Chapter 629: I Am Her Father
Chapter 629: Chapter 629: I Am Her Father
At the entrance of the government office, Ren Si, soaked to the bone, directed her servants to carry in a figure covered in mud.
Once the figure was set down in the hall, Shen Ningning took a closer look. ’Isn’t that Ren Er!’
The maid gasped.
Ren Er was smeared with wet mud and looked to be on her last breath, but thankfully, she was still breathing.
"Who are you, and how are you involved in this case?" the Magistrate demanded sternly.
Ren Si wiped the rain from her face and exchanged a glance with Shen Ningning.
She began to speak. "Big Sis told me the rain was getting too heavy and that I shouldn’t stay in the low-lying parts of the house. I went to Mother’s courtyard to take shelter, but then I overheard someone saying that Big Sis had murdered Second Sis by pushing her into the water to drown."
"How could that be possible? Only about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had passed between Big Sis leaving the manor and the news of Second Sis’s drowning. I found out exactly where Second Sis had fallen into the water and immediately took some people to search downstream. Sure enough, we found her on the riverbank."
Afraid that Shen Ningning would be wrongfully accused, and having learned that she had been taken to the government office, Ren Si ignored her family’s protests and immediately had Ren Er brought over.
Ren Si cried out urgently, "Big Sis was framed! She would never kill anyone!"
The Magistrate’s expression darkened. His gaze swept over Ren Si and Shen Ningning, but he said nothing.
’A perfectly laid plan, and now this Ren Si shows up to ruin everything!’
Lying on the ground, Ren Er slowly came to her senses. When she saw the trembling maid kneeling beside her, her expression turned savage. She lunged forward, grabbed the maid’s sleeve, and snarled, "You bitch... You dared... dared to not pull me out? You wanted me to die, didn’t you!"
Seeing this, Shen Ningning immediately said, "Before you arrived, this maid confessed. She was acting on Zhao Lei’s orders to take this opportunity to murder you."
Ren Er’s eyes burned with fury. She used every ounce of her strength to sit up, grabbed the maid by the hair, and straddled her, raining down blows.
"You backstabbing bitch! Did you really think Zhao Lei would marry you if I were dead?"
The maid’s pained screams echoed through the hall. The Magistrate, at the end of his patience, slammed his gavel down. "Separate them at once! This is a government office! How dare you cause such a ruckus?"
Ren Si rushed to Shen Ningning’s side, grabbing her arm and pulling her back slightly.
"Now that Big Sis has been proven innocent, she can leave, right?"
The Magistrate’s eyes were dark. He tilted his head slightly, as if waiting for a signal from the person behind the screen. Shen Ningning caught this subtle shift in his expression. ’I knew it,’ she thought. ’Is the real mastermind sitting behind that screen?’
Just then, an authoritative voice boomed from the entrance of the government office, "She cannot leave! Because she is not your older sister!"
Everyone turned to see Governor Ren striding in with a group of guards.
Each guard held a cold blade, their presence grim and imposing in the pouring rain.
Shen Ningning wasn’t surprised to see Governor Ren at all.
’He must have been nearby. The moment he realized things were no longer under his control, he was bound to show up.’
Ren Si was stunned. "Father? What do you mean she isn’t Big Sis?"
As Governor Ren walked into the hall, the Magistrate immediately stepped down from his seat to greet him.
His stern gaze, laced with malice, fixed on Shen Ningning. "She and that Fang Huan are both impostors! Your real sister and brother-in-law have likely already been murdered by them!"
With that, he ordered the guards to bring in a witness. A moment later, a hunched, middle-aged man hurried inside.
"Greetings, Your Excellency. Greetings, Lord Magistrate." The man had shifty, rat-like eyes. He looked up, saw Shen Ningning, and pointed a finger at her. "I attended my nephew’s wedding. She is definitely not Miss Ren!"
Governor Ren snorted. "He is an elder from Fang Huan’s village. It was from his description that I learned you are not my daughter, Liu Yue. And that Fang Huan is also an impostor!"
"No wonder the servants I sent out vanished without a trace! You must have killed them. And my daughter and son-in-law... you murdered them long ago, didn’t you?"
Shen Ningning’s expression hardened. "First, you tried to pin Ren Er’s death on me. Now you’re adding another fabricated crime. Governor Ren, why are you targeting me so desperately? What are you so afraid of?"
Governor Ren narrowed his eyes. "I have nothing to be afraid of. You, on the other hand, went to great lengths to infiltrate the Ren Family and throw our household into chaos. And you still expect me to acknowledge you as my daughter?"
Ren Si watched from the side, looking doubtful. She thought for a moment, then said, "Father, I don’t think Big Sis would do something like that. Besides, even if she isn’t really my sister, she doesn’t mean any harm. She’s a good person."
"Nonsense!" Governor Ren slapped her across the face.
Caught off guard, Ren Si stumbled and fell to the ground. Shen Ningning rushed forward to help her up.
"You’re a traitor, too! Letting this person fool you with just a few words. You’re still helping an outsider, even now! Her background is a mystery, and she’s impersonating your sister. She must be after our family’s power. Can’t you see that?"
Governor Ren pointed at Ren Si and raged. But Ren Si refused to accept his words, clutching her red, swollen cheek as her eyes filled with cold defiance.
Suddenly, the clamor of a fight erupted at the entrance.
Governor Ren and the Magistrate both looked toward the entrance. "What’s happening?"
The guards rushed to engage the intruders but were forced to fall back just moments later.
Under the watchful eyes of all present, a unit of elite soldiers in black armor strode in, each holding a cold sword dripping with bloodied rainwater.
Their overwhelming presence forced the governor’s guards back into the center of the hall.
As the two forces faced off, it was instantly clear which side was more menacing.
Governor Ren’s face filled with suspicion. "Whose soldiers are you?"
The elite soldiers didn’t answer. They simply parted, clearing a path down the middle.
Mo Lingwei strode in. His sword dripped with a mixture of rain and blood; he had clearly fought his way here.
Upon seeing that Shen Ningning was unharmed, he let out a discreet sigh of relief.
’Good. I made it in time.’
"You may not recognize me, but you should recognize this," Mo Lingwei said, pulling a golden order from his sleeve.
It was engraved with the image of a dragon battling in the wild—the Crown Prince’s personal seal—and bore his name on the back.
The Magistrate was so startled he immediately dropped to his knees.
Governor Ren, however, was only stunned for a moment before composing himself.
He narrowed his eyes. "How do I know if that’s real or fake? The Capital City is a thousand miles away. Why would His Highness the Crown Prince, for no good reason, leave his palace and come all the way to my Ling Mountain City to hide his identity and impersonate some man named Fang Huan? It’s laughable!"
"You may not recognize Fang Huan, but surely you recognize me," another voice said from behind Mo Lingwei.
Governor Ren frowned. ’Will this never end!’
When Shen Ningning saw the person who had arrived, she cried out in surprise, "Father!"
Governor Ren glanced back and sneered. "Don’t go calling just anyone your father. You are not my daughter, Liu Yue, and I am certainly not your father. Trying to cozy up to me now is useless. I won’t let you or this fraud impersonating Fang Huan get away."
"She wasn’t calling out to you," said the tall figure. He held an umbrella, and his black boots splashed into a puddle, sending out ripples. The brim of the umbrella lifted slightly, revealing an exceptionally stern and imposing face. "This is my daughter, Shen Ningning. I am her father. And who the hell do you think you are?!"
Xie Suzhi finished speaking and raised his sharp eyes.